Rafael Pires Monteiro (born 23 June 1989 in Coronel Fabriciano), known simply as Rafael, is a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Club career

Rafael joined the youth ranks of Cruzeiro in 2002 and received his first call up to the first team squad six years later. He made his professional debut on 30 January 2010, in a

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befor ...

3–0 defeat to Ipatinga. On 4 December 2011, he was in the starting lineup in one of Cruzeiro's most famed

Clássico Mineiro The Atlético Mineiro–Cruzeiro rivalry, known as the Clássico Mineiro ("Mineiro Derby") is an association football rivalry between Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro from Belo Horizonte. It is one of the fiercest in Brazilian and South American foo ...

wins, in which they beat rivals Atlético Mineiro 6–1 in the last round of that year's Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and avoided relegation. During Cruzeiro's 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A campaign, Rafael served as the main goalkeeper, while the first choice and club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Fábio recovered from a long-term injury. During the first months of 2017, he and Fábio battled for the spot, with Rafael starting in most of the

2017 Campeonato Mineiro The 2017 Campeonato Mineiro is the 103nd season of Mineiro's top professional football league. The competition began on January 28 and will end in May. Teams * América * América TO *Atlético Mineiro * Caldense * Cruzeiro * Democrata GV * Tomb ...

matches. On 3 March 2020, Rafael joined Atlético Mineiro on a three-year deal. On 8 December 2022, Rafael signed a three-year deal with

Career statistics

Honours

Cruzeiro *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de P ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Atlético Mineiro *Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

*Copa do Brasil:

*Campeonato Mineiro: 2020,

, 2022 * Supercopa do Brasil: 2022 Brazil U20 * South American Youth Championship:

References

External links

* 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Minas Gerais Brazilian footballers Association football goalkeepers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Clube Atlético Mineiro players São Paulo FC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Brazil youth international footballers Brazil under-20 international footballers {{Brazil-footy-goalkeeper-stub